Vancouver-based women’s fashion retailer Aritzia continues to expand its operations as it sees tremendous success. The expansion includes opening new store locations, as well as growing a number of existing stores to reposition them as flagships.
The company went public with an IPO in October of 2016, and its financial performance continues to remain strong. Aritzia also boasts one of the industry’s highest annual sales per square foot, warranting larger stores within some markets.
To meet demand as well as to carry an expanded product assortment, Aritzia has been expanding some of its stores to create flagships, and more are in the works. Over the past 12 months, Aritzia expanded its units at CF Richmond Centre near Vancouver, at Southcentre in Calgary, and at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre (a relocation to a significantly larger space). Each expansion added an average of 3,500 square feet per store, according to Aritzia.
(AT CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON)
(WILFRED’S NEW, LARGER LOCATION AT CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON)
Aritzia also operates standalone stores for its three in-house brands, including Wilfred, Babaton and TNA. Wilfred’s CF Toronto Eaton Centre store recently relocated to a new 5,150 square foot space, with the former 1,780 square foot location becoming the very first freestanding location for Babaton, which is now also expanding nationally.
CF Toronto Eaton Centre is an important address for Aritzia. The retailer is expanding its current 5,480 square foot location in the mall to become one of its largest, measuring in excess of 11,000 square feet on one level. The company confirms that it will enlarge four or five locations by the end of February 2018, both in Canada as well as in the United States.
Over the past 12 months, Aritzia has also opened several new stores, including Aritzia stores at Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill ON and at Tsawwassen Mills near Vancouver, a new Wilfred store at Mississauga’s Square One, as well as Babaton locations at CF Toronto Eaton Centre and at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. New stores now average about 6,000 square feet, up from a previous store average of about 5,000 square feet.
(INSIDE THE NEW CHICAGO GOLD COAST ARITZIA. PHOTO: SUPPLIED)
As discussed in a separate article last month, Aritzia’s Babaton concept will be expanding to four stores this fall, with new units at CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver and at Square One in Mississauga. Aritzia explained that Babaton’s stores help to propel the Babaton brand (Aritzia’s stores are a marketing tool) and that standalone locations for some of Aritzia’s brands are particularly focused on locations where Aritzia is performing well, but where space is limited to expand existing Aritzia stores. “This store strategy allows us to increase our square footage in that shopping centre, while still maintaining the optimal location of our established store, given expansion limitations,” according to the company.
Aritzia’s US operations are also seeing some changes. Last month, the company debuted a flagship in Chicago’s Gold Coast, spanning 7,700 square feet and neighbouring luxury brands such as Saint Laurent, VersaceMarc Jacobs and, soon, Dior. Aritzia also recently opened a Los Angeles flagship at Westfield Century City, and it is repositioning its San Francisco Union Square store to become a flagship, as well. The company says that it is looking at new markets for growth.
Popular LVMH-owned beauty retailer Sephora continues to expand its operations in Canada. It is opening a number of stores this year, and is renovating and expanding some exiting locations. As well, Sephora will introduce its new tech-focused ‘TIP’ concept to its West Edmonton Mall location — only its second in Canada.
This summer, Sephora opened a 5,500 square foot location at the Intercity Shopping Center in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and according to Christine Delebarre, VP Stores and Client Service Sephora Canada, the company will continue with its expansion momentum into the fall. She confirmed that stores will be opening at Conestoga Mall in Waterloo and at New Sudbury Centre in Sudbury, both in Ontario, and offerings are being expanded at some existing locations, including at Toronto’s Scarborough Town Centre as well as at West Edmonton Mall.
The expanded West Edmonton Mall store will be the second in Canada to feature Sephora’s ‘TIP’ concept — TIP stands for “Teach, Inspire, Play”, and Sephora describes the concept as being “where digital technology and services fuse, culminating in a truly revolutionary shopping experience for modern day beauty enthusiasts of all ages to beauty together”. The new concept store also includes “a customized array of one-of-a-kind services and tutorials.”
Sephora’s first Canadian TIP location debuted at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre in August of 2016 and at the time, it was only the third Sephora in North America to include the installation. At Yorkdale, the ‘Beauty Tip Workshop’ consists of an area for multiple clients to learn via group beauty classes led by Sephora experts, gain self-guided access to tutorials using iPad stations, or to gather inspiration from The Beauty Board — Sephora’s shop-able gallery that showcases user-generated content via a large digital screen. Each station is equipped with its own product, iPad, USB port and wifi, so clients can play, browse and share looks on the digital screen and online, right from their seat.
There’s more in store for Sephora in Canada, though Ms. Delebarre wouldn’t yet be specific. “We have a few digital innovations coming up, including brand new platforms with features that will facilitate a greater connection between our clients and us. I can’t share too much yet, but this and other innovations in stores and online are coming later this year and we’re excited to get even closer to beauty enthusiasts across Canada!”
Sephora has been expanding aggressively in Canada over the past several years, including its ‘Take Over Toronto’ initiative that saw the opening of new stores, as well as the expansion of other locations. Sephora works with brokerage Aurora Realty Consultants for its Canadian real estate, under the direction of Jeff Berkowitz.
Edmonton’s Londonderry Shopping Centre is essentially brand new, having seen an investment exceeding $130 million. Common areas have been completely renovated, the exterior and parking have been improved, and on August 24, La Maison Simons opened its second store in the city at the centre.
In the fall of 2014, landlord 20 VIC Management Inc. announced that Londonderry would see a modernization that would be led by MMC Architects and GH+A Design. The project has lived up to the renderings, revealing a bright, contemporary shopping centre with easy-to-navigate hallways, an impressive sun-flooded food hall, and some of the finest looking washrooms in any Canadian mall. Other regional malls may want to take notes.
Individual retailers have also renovated their premises, including some that have had the opportunity to add height to their facades. Ceilings were raised as part of the costly mall overhaul.
A unique ’Shop Canada Runway‘ initiative has seen the opening of eight new local retailers over the summer, in an effort to support local and up-and-coming designers, fashion brands and businesses. Included is the first-ever PARKSHOP, from the team behind the local PARK fashion initiative, as well as Step In Shoes, Continental Shoes, women’s lifestyle shop LemonDress, local designer Kelly Wollf, menswear clothing and accessories store Moltisanti, menswear label Adesso Accessories, and men’s/women’s fashion retailer Opulence. These local retailers set Londonderry apart from other major shopping centres in Northern Alberta.
While most of Londonderry’s retail space has been spoken for — new retailers have been added while others were relocated — Marketing Director Nancy Jarnevic explained that the landlord is in talks for a number of innovative new retail concepts to open in the remaining few vacancies at the centre. “The centre is almost unrecognizable now,” she said, noting that the addition of La Maison Simons will be a key addition that will add to the excitement.
Although Simons already has an Edmonton location (the West Edmonton Mall store opened in October of 2012), the Londonderry Simons is somewhat different in its offerings. An expanded shoe department is featured at Londonderry’s Simons, acting as a prototype for future stores. As well, Simons Londonderry features new initiatives in environmental sustainability — over 50% of the store’s electricity usage comes from on-site renewable energy sources. Soon, the north parking lot beside Simons will include approximately 80 car parking spots that will be covered with canopies featuring 720 bifacial solar modules with glass on both surfaces to capture both direct and reflected sunlight. There will also be 950 high efficiency solar modules on Simons’ roof, and the entire solar-electric system is expected to generate over 550,000 kWh per year (the equivalent of 80 homes) in energy, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 350 tonnes per year.
Inside the store, LED lamps and fixtures throughout reduce electricity devoted to lighting by more than 40%, when compared to traditional halogen light fixtures, and electric car charging stations have been installed in the parking lot adjacent to the store.
Londonderry opened in 1972. At the time, it was the largest mall in Canada west of Toronto, as well as the only two-level mall in Western Canada. Today, the 780,000 square foot centre features about 150 retailers and is anchored by Hudson’s Bay, Winners, Save-On Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart and, soon, the La Maison Simons store housed in a space exceeding 100,000 square feet.
Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont Group is building three luxury boutiques on Vancouver’s Alberni Street, all of which are expected to open in the fall. A flagship two-level Van Cleef & Arpels will be joined by an adjacent location for IWC Schaffhausen, and Officine Panerai is confirmed to be opening nearby.
Construction on the 1069 Alberni Street commercial building where Van Cleef & Arpels and IWC Schaffhausen will locate began last year, with a completion date expected to be later in the fall. Van Cleef & Arpels will be the largest in Canada, spanning more than 4,000 square feet over two levels. IWC Schaffhausen will locate next to it, in a building that replaced an open plaza that once was home to a number of cherry trees.
Nearby at 1008 Alberni Street, signage has gone up for a new Officine Panerai boutique, in retail space formerly occupied by footwear retailer Mephisto. The new Panerai will be next to yet another Richemont brand — Jaeger-LeCoultre, which opened at 1012 Alberni Street in the fall of 2015.
Van Cleef & Arpels sells a range of jewellery and watches, while IWC Schaffhausen and Panerai focus primarily on watches.
Yorkdale’s Van Cleef & Arpels is about 1,550 square feet on one level — less than half the size of the new Vancouver flagship, which will also include a private VIP shopping component. Van Cleef & Arpels also has shop-in-stores operated by Birks in downtown Vancouver and at Toronto’s Manulife Centre (both of which will see substantial renovations).
Vancouver’s 1st Chopard boutique will open this fall at 925 W. Georgia Street, replacing a gwc watch boutique. Photo Lee Rivett
Nearby on West Georgia Street, luxury retailers are considering spaces as the Alberni Street luxury zone grows increasingly crowded. Ultra-luxury Italian brand Stefano Ricci opened its first standalone Canadian store in January of 2017 at 1139 W. Georgia Street, and this fall a Chopard boutique will open at 925 W. Georgia Street, converting a retail space most recently occupied by multi-brand Global Watch Company. Luxury brands Omega and Gucci also have West Georgia-facing facades at the base of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
*Thank you, Lee Rivett, for providing information re: content for this article.
Vancouver’s iconic Robson Street is in a state of transition and it has a bright future, according to experts and brokers involved in deals in the area. A number of retailers have recently opened or are renovating/expanding their stores, and a number of exciting new retailers have been announced, including one of the world’s largest MUJI flagships.
Robson Street has been popular for decades, having morphed in the 1990’s from being the German-influenced ‘Robsonstrasse’ neighbourhood high-street to something of an open-air shopping centre, lined with national and international tenants. The busiest strip includes the 900, 1000 and 1100 blocks, which are located between Hornby Street to the east, and Bute Street to the West.
The 900 block, between Hornby Street and Burrard Street, has a diverse variety of retailers ranging from Foot Locker to Salvatore Ferragamo. One of the world’s largest Victoria’s Secret stores is located at the northeast corner of Burrard and Robson Streets, and two years ago Lululemon constructed its flagship on the southeast corner. Electric vehicle brand Tesla operates a busy showroom mid-block.
The 1000 block of Robson Street, located between Burrard Street and Thurlow Street, is generally considered to be the busiest of the three blocks. Roots has a recently-renovated flagship at the northwest corner of the Burrard Street and Robson intersection, and L’Occitaine en Provence opened a beautiful space on the southwest corner in the fall of 2014. Forever 21 operates a large store mid-block, and a number of other prominent retailers include Zara, Club Monaco, Boys’Co, Sephora and Browns Shoes, and Saje Natural Wellness’ global flagship operates at 1091 Robson Street. Banana Republic has a three-level flagship on the southeast corner of Robson and Thurlow Streets, and Starbucks operates a very busy location on the intersection’s northeast corner.
Robson Street’s 1100 block, between Thurlow Street and Bute Street, features a massive Aritzia flagship on the intersection’s southwest corner, as well as a recently-renovated Camper store on the northwest corner. London Drugs anchors the west end of the block, which includes a number of smaller retailers as it passes onto the 1200 block, west of Bute Street.
It won’t be just any MUJI flagship however, and the store will be larger than originally announced — spanning about 16,000 square feet, MUJI will take over the roughly 10,500 square feet of space recently vacated by The Gap, as well as an additional 5,500 square feet of rear retail space once occupied by denim retailer Below the Belt (including its massive rounded glass atrium/skylight). There are currently three MUJI stores open in Canada, all of which are in the Greater Toronto Area, ranging in size between 4,400 square feet and 6,375 square feet.
Robson Street’s 1100 block currently has a number of vacancies, but those are only temporary, according to Martin Moriarty, Associate Vice President at CBRE in Vancouver. CBRE has been more active in downtown Vancouver than any other brokerage (signage with Mr. Moriarty and Mario Negris’ names are prominent throughout the city) and the duo are doing deals in many areas, including on Robson Street.
Mr. Moriarty explained that while Robson Street might appear to be struggling, it’s undergoing the kind of transition being seen in various global cities. “Robson has been adapting to challenging retail trends felt globally and impacting most major retail nodes – in London, Regent Street went through a similar process and we’ve seen vacancy at unprecedented levels in New York’s prime corridors of late.” He went on to say, “despite this, there has been a significant uptick in activity/interest on the street and particularly on the 1100 block. With the caliber of tenants moving in soon, we fully expect this to continue.”
When asked what types of retailers we might see on Robson Street in the next several years, Mr. Moriarty explained that “there continues to be a desire from local, national and international groups to have a Robson St “presence”. That said, I believe that there is a kaleidoscope of international users, primarily in the “fast fashion” genre that will drive the landmark deals on Robson”. Referencing some of the larger retail spaces that are currently (and soon will be) available both on the 1000 and 1100 blocks, Mr. Moriarty noted that “when you consider the street profile, the size of those spaces and the rents involved, there tends to be only a few users that “fit the bill”. I think international “fast fashion” suits Robson and ultimately that will be the category driving landmark deals.”
Mr. Moriarty noted that CBRE has been busy over the past 12 months, having done lease deals for retailers including Reigning Champ, MUJI, Nike, Bailey Nelson, Ladurée and Eyestar. More are on the way but due to confidentiality, he couldn’t go into further detail.
Brodie Henrichsen, Principal at brokerage Northwest Atlantic, explained that there is still considerable demand for flagship retail opportunities on Robson Street, and that finding the “right” space can be a challenge for some retailers.
Although CF Pacific Centre is a very strong retail centre, Mr. Henrichsen said that most major retailers still want a street front presence, if available. “I still believe in Robson Street,” said Mr. Henrichsen. “The walking traffic is immense, and there are a lot of tourists,” he said. He also noted that while Robson Street sees a substantial amount of tourists, CF Pacific Centre’s shoppers are mostly locals. “That’s why there are duplicate retailers such as Sephora, Aritzia, Club Monaco and Lululemon” on Robson Street as well as in the mall, with Lululemon having just opened a store at CF Pacific Centre on the mall’s lower level.
Referencing the 1100 block of Robson Street, Mr. Henrichsen noted that the street is “headed in the right direction” with the addition of retailers such as Skechers, Steve Madden, Laudrée, Nike, and MUJI (coming later this year) and that the primary three-block stretch of Robson street is well suited for major high street brands. “The street will continue to evolve,” noted Mr. Henrichsen, going on to say that there may be some redevelopment opportunities in the works for some of the street’s older buildings.
Teri Smith, Executive Director of the Robson Street Business Improvement Area, noted that while the street is in transition, there are a number of exciting new retailers that have moved into the area. Vancouver-based outdoor retailer Arc’teryx recently opened an innovative store on Burrard Street, just south of Robson Street, and RYU Apparel also recently opened on Thurlow Street, beside Aritzia. Bailey Nelson also recently opened its first corporately-owned store at 1135 Robson Street, and more retailers are on the way including Reigning Champ, which will be moving into the former HMV space at 1148 Robson Street.
Ms. Smith pointed to a number of endeavours to enhance the area, which are bringing people to the area to shop, as well as to relax. A new public plaza was recently created on the 800 block of Bute Street by closing a street to vehicle traffic, and the pilot project could become permanent if everything works out as planned.
Some positive developments are going to be happening on the street — including the redevelopment of four smaller retail spaces on the 1000 block between Sephora and the Manhattan Block, which will be occupied by one large retailer that will be announced at a later date.
Raymond Shoolman, retail expert at DIG360 Consulting Ltd., explained how Robson Street has lost some of its lustre to the city’s historical Gastown area, which has recently reclaimed its ‘cool factor’ with the addition of innovative retailers and restaurants/bars. He suggested that in order to further revive Robson Street, making it an ‘entertainment area’ would be of assistance — not to mention adding new and expanding existing retailers. He noted the recent renovation of Roots and the expansion of Aritzia as being positive additions to the street, and suggested Robson would benefit from utilizing some of the successes in Gastown. That might be a challenge, he noted, given Robson Street’s unforgiving high rents and multiple landlord situation.
Mr. Shoolman also noted that the rise of CF Pacific Centre, including the addition of a Nordstrom flagship in September of 2016, have drawn shoppers eastward towards Granville Street. CF Pacific Centre is anchored by an extremely productive Holt Renfrew, a Hudson’s Bay flagship, and what some are saying is Nordstrom’s top-selling location in the entire chain.
This is the first in a series of articles where we profile high streets and important retail areas in major Canadian cities. We are also profiling shopping centres, with our initial piece describing Toronto’s Bayview Village.
An notable retail building is for sale at 2454 Yonge Street in midtown Toronto, currently housing Sporting Life Bikes & Boards as a single tenant. The bid date for interested parties is September 14 of this year.
The three-level corner commercial building boasts excellent visibility on Yonge Street with 38.5 feet of frontage, as well as expansive frontage on Roselawn Avenue. The 13,116 square foot building includes a ground floor of 4,303 square feet, a second floor with 4,408 square feet, and a basement level spanning 4,405 square feet. The lot size is 5,550 square feet, and the site includes seven valuable parking spaces.
Ceiling heights in the space are exceptional, with 12’11” on the main floor and 12’9” ceilings on the second level. Volume created makes the space appear even larger than it is.
The location is notable — it’s surrounded by some of Canada’s most established communities, with considerable discretionary income. As well, the population in the immediate area is growing substantially, and the area is well serviced by the Yonge Subway line and, in a few years, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will intersect a few blocks to the south.
2454 Yonge Street2454 Yonge StreetImage: Sporting Life
Almost 180,000 people live within a three kilometre radius of 2454 Yonge Street, and population is projected to grow by 4.2% between now and the year 2021. Average household income for the same area is estimated to be $192,922 annually, with impressive income growth of 15.5% between 2011 and 2016.
Toronto’s upscale Bayview Village shopping centre is launching a unique pop-up concept today that will extend for the month of September. The purpose-built 1,000 square foot space will house new tenants daily, which will range widely from fitness to food to fashion.
Bayview Village is calling the new pop-up space “The Haute Spot”, and it’s being run in partnership with The Toronto Star’s beauty and style publication, The Kit.
The pop-up includes daily activities in the space, which features furniture (which can be moved depending on the activation) as well as shelving, storage drawers, and clothing racks if needed. The decor is bright, friendly and decidedly chic, merging with the design aesthetic set out by Bayview Village’s Marketing/Style Director, Melissa Evans-Lee, who also curated the space’s shoppable “Melissa’s Musts” closet, which features a section of fall fashions sourced from a number of Bayview Village retailers.
Whimsical wallpaper, bright lighting and ample use of pink makes the space approachable and friendly, with decorated touches that include fashion-related coffee table books, art, and floral components (see photos in this article).
The pop-up is a way for a number of brands to get exposure for a short-time, and the roster of companies participating is exceptional. Toronto-based ela Handbags will be one of the vendors, portraying a selection of upscale and fashion forward handbags. Natural beauty brand The Detox Market will provide complimentary skincare services from the likes of Tata Harper and Odacité. Amy Rosen of Rosen’s Cinnamon Buns will make a personal appearance during an activation that will include her award-winning products. Toronto-based MoRoCo Chocolate will be selling some of its wares, including its “Afternoon tea in a box” to-go, and chocolate stilettos. The Four Seasons Hotel’s resident Psychic Cyndi will be on hand one day, and there will even be activities such as yoga — the monthly schedule can be seen directly below, which includes a number of other notable local companies.
“Not only does this pop-up initiative mean that we get to work with our kindred fashionista spirits over at The Kit,” says Ms. Evans-Lee, “it also gives us the opportunity to allow for discovery and repeat visitation, animate the space, generate buzz, test retail concepts and offer instagrammable moments for our customers. The goal is really to have people pointing at the calendar saying, ‘I definitely want to go and see the psychic, buy a chocolate stiletto, do that glam-sounding photo shoot, check out the LBD fashion show, etc. etc.’”
There’s a diversity to the activations as well — some activities are free while others are pay-per use, some events are public while others are invite-only, and some events are full-day, while others are for a portion thereof. More details can be found here: http://www.bayviewvillageshops.com/events
While a number of other shopping centres in Canada have launched pop-up spaces, the Bayview Village initiative is unique in how rapidly tenants change. Mall visitors are encouraged to come back repeatedly to check out what’s new, which is also expected to give a boost to the centre as a whole as shoppers stock up on fall fashions. Other local centres to include pop-up innovations include Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, which in April launched CONCEPT, the permanent multi-tenant pop-up space with activations that rotate every month or so. Dixie Outlet Mall in Mississauga, as well, also innovated when it unveiled ‘The Living Room’ in April, which is a multi-functional space that is free to use, and can be booked for a variety of uses.
Pop-up retail is a phenomenon that is becoming more common than ever, with pop-up expert Linda Farha explaining that, “pop-ups create an enhanced level of excitement due to their temporary nature, and they also allow retailers to test out new concepts and new locations prior to opening permanent stores”. She went on to describe how the perception of scarcity may be a psychological trigger to get customers to visit, and with frequency. “Customers want to get in before it’s gone”. Ms. Farha said that business is booming at her business pop-up go (spelled lower-case) — she’s the Founder and Chief Connector at pop-up go, which is an online platform that helps pair retailers with available temporary retail spaces, which also features a curated pop-up match service that provides access to the ever-growing pipeline of pop-up seekers looking for space.
Bayview Village’s “The Haute Spot” is likely going to be a hit — during a visit to the centre prior to opening, interested onlookers were peeking in to see what was in store. It’s the combination of marketing, branding and diversity that will make such activations successful, and it’s likely that we’ll be seeing more such spaces in Canadian shopping centres this fall and into 2018.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 19, Retail Insider’s Craig Patterson is hosting a tour of Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area in partnership with Interior Designers of Canada, and the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM). The tour will focus on the future of the area, which is seeing an unprecedented transformation at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. Architectural highlights and design will be featured, and it concludes with a networking reception at the Gardiner Museum on Avenue Road.
To register for the event, please contact Scott Kettles, Business Development Manager, at skettles@idcanada.org to register for this event. Tour & Networking reception cost is $40 or if just attending Networking reception cost is $20.
The tour will begin at the Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel at 90 Bloor Street East, and will head westward towards the iconic intersection of Yonge and Bloor, located directly above Canada’s busiest subway stations. At the southeast and southwest corners are two substantial developments — One Bloor Street East features a nearly completed 75 storey tower will a substantial commercial podium, and One Bloor West, aka ‘The One’, will feature seven levels of retail at the base of an 80 storey condominium tower, in a project unlike any seen in Canada to date.
The tour will then head westward along Bloor Street West, with a visit to the Manulife Centre (55 Bloor St. W.), which is undergoing an expansion and overhaul that will cost in excess of $100 million. When completed, the new retail podium will include Italian food concept Eataly, as well as a number of new first-in-class retailers. Across the street, Holt Renfrew’s global flagship is about to see some substantial changes.
Heading north onto Bay Street, the tour will note that a considerable number of buildings to the east of Bay Street will be demolished for a yet-to-be announced super-project with retail and residential towers. The tour will head westward along Yorkville Avenue, which is undergoing substantial changes as well. Historic Yorkville, which was at one time its own village, features a number of heritage buildings, as well as new construction.
Happening now, Yorkville Avenue is being redeveloped under the guidance of landlords such as First Capital Realty to create a ‘luxury zone’ of stores and restaurants that is expected to be similar to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills when completed. Chanel’s 8,700 square foot Canadian flagship at 100 Yorkville Avenue, opening in November, is one of the highlights.
The tour will enter ‘the laneway’ on Yorkville Avenue and make a stop at First Capital Realty’s Yorkville Village shopping centre, formerly ‘Hazelton Lanes’. The enclosed mall is completing an overhaul that includes new bright interiors, as well as a mix of local, national and international brands. It’s a ‘community centre’ of sorts, featuring Equinox and SoulCycle for fitness, art galleries, restaurants, and a number of upscale fashion retailers.
The tour will then continue southward and then eastward along Cumberland Street, noting a number of historic buildings that have been repurposed for retail — not to mention Nespresso’s jaw-dropping 14,000 square foot premises. The tour then heads south along Bellair Street (past Retail Insider’s headquarters) onto Bloor Street West, where the tour will detail what’s to come at the historic ‘The Colonnade‘ at 131 Bloor Street West, which is again undergoing a transformation. The Colonnade has a remarkable history, having been Canada’s first mixed-use building to include a retail shopping concourse, office space, and residential in the same building. Other soon-to-open retailers on the strip include Hermes, Dior, Moncler, and a new flagship for the world’s largest tableware retailer, William Ashley.
The tour concludes at The Gardiner Museum and will follow with a networking reception in a stunning, minimalist space with floor-to-ceiling windows, where a new product will be launched and revealed.
Arconas, Platinum Sponsor of this event, is celebrating their recent partnership with Green Furniture Concept as the exclusive distributor of their products to any commercial space in Ontario, and to airports throughout the Americas. Green Furniture Concept is an award-winning Swedish company that creates sustainable, indoor wood seating and acoustic lighting solutions for public spaces.
On display for event guests to experience will be the company’s signature Nova C Bench Series and Leaf Lamp Trees. Nova C wood benches are available in a variety of finishes and offer the flexibility to design seating configurations as unique as your space through modular pieces. The Leaf Lamp Series consists of a unique ambient and acoustic lighting solution made entirely of natural materials. Floor mounted or hanging leaf lamp options bring a whimsical yet elegant charm to each space.
(RENDERING OF THOR EQUITIES' 1327-1333 SAINTE-CATHERINE STREET PROPERTY)
Danish footwear and accessory brand ECCO has secured a larger retail space on Montreal’s Sainte-Catherine Street, next to its current location. ECCO signed a long-term lease at a rate in excess of $200 per square foot annually. The new store will be the third in Canada to feature an expansive leather goods and accessory shop-in-store component, and it will also become the largest ECCO store in Canada.
The building at 1327-1333 Sainte-Catherine Street is owned by New York City-based Thor Equities. As part of the deal, ECCO is growing its downtown Montreal presence — its current space is about 1,250 square feet on one level, and the newly leased space includes 1,690 square feet on street-level, as well as an additional 1,535 square feet of lower-level space that will be used for storage.
In a recent interview, ECCO Canada President Jordan Searle confirmed that the new Montreal ECCO location would become the largest in Canada, and would also feature a dedicated leather goods and accessory shop-in-store. The new Montreal ECCO will be the third in Canada to feature an extensive accessory offering — in September of 2016, ECCO unveiled North America’s first ECCO accessory store in Vancouver, and this summer the company opened a beautiful new Yorkdale ‘prime concept’ flagship in Toronto that also features expansive leather goods and accessory offerings.
(CLICK FOR INTERACTIVE GOOGLE MAP)
David Bishop of Northwest Atlantic represented ECCO in the lease deal with Thor Equities, which was represented by Alexandra Frangos and Sam Polese.
“With a number of quality retailers opening along Sainte-Catherine Street in Downtown Montreal, and pedestrian traffic along the already popular corridor continuing to increase, the area is primed for even further growth,” said Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities.
The new Montreal ECCO location is idea — 1327-1333 Saint-Catherine Street is situated near the expanding Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew department store on Sainte-Catherine Street, which will be directly connected to a new $250 million project featuring a 163-room Four Seasons Hotel, 18 super-luxury private residences, three restaurants, and a 6,000-square-foot ballroom. Other nearby retailers include Apple, Dr. Martens, Aritzia, Starbucks, Aldo, Fossil, Armani Exchange and Vans.
(PROMOTIONAL INSTALLATION IN FRONT OF THE NEW YORKDALE STORE WHICH OPENED EARLIER THIS SUMMER. SHOPPERS HAD MINIATURE VERSIONS OF THEMSELVES CREATED, VIA TORONTO-BASED SELFTRAITS)
Thor Equity’s 1327-1333 Sainte-Catherine Street property is a six-level Art Deco building with approximately 16,800 square feet of retail space, and over 18,000 square feet of office space.
ECCO currently has 31 stores in Canada, and in a recent interview, Mr. Searle revealed that the company plans to eventually operate about 45 Canadian stores as it continues to open a handful of locations each year in this country. Founded in Denmark in 1963, ECCO is unique in how it manages every aspect of the value chain from tanneries and shoe manufacturing to wholesale and retail activities. ECCO’s products are sold in 88 countries from over 2,000 ECCO shops and more than 14,000 sales points. The company is doing exceptionally well — in 2016, it saw the number of shoes sold increase by 5% over the year prior, with currency-adjusted sales through brick-and-mortar boutiques increase 10%, and online sales growth of 46%. ECCO opened about 100 new concept shops (including partner stores) last year.
THE RUNNING ROOM, BAY STREET IN TORONTO. (PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON)
Two or three years ago e-commerce was barely 1.5 per cent of the Running Room’s overall business.
After a significant investment that percentage has ballooned to near 10 per cent for the Edmonton-based retailer, which has stores across the country and into the United States.
“I really hope we’re going to hit that number by the end of the year. We’ve got an aggressive program. We want to have it 20 per cent in the next two years. That’s our goal,” says Jason Stanton, a partner and CMO of the company.
Jason Stanton
Stanton’s father, John, founded the family business in 1984 with its first store in a small room of an old house in Edmonton. Today, the retailer has 107 stores in Canada and nine in the United States.
“We started to take a look at our competitors,” explains Stanton of the company’s e-commerce push. “Certainly because of the landscape, borders aren’t as relevant. We started to look at some of our U.S. counterparts and what was going on and just realized that we needed to up our game and we made a really good investment a couple of years ago just to get our shopping platform more friendly and certainly catching up to what the consumers’ expectations were with it.”
That resulted in a much smoother process in how customers buy and pick up their merchandise.
“In the last six months, we’ve been seeing such a strong growth rate that we decided to really kind of double down and make sure that we are where our consumers want to purchase and how they want to purchase,” adds Stanton. “What we’re finding is they love shopping online but they really still love visiting retail. So we’re sitting at about 53 per cent of our online purchases are picked up at our retail stores which is quite unique.”
Six months ago the Running Room decided to add on another 5,500 square feet of dedicated dot.com space for its customer service group which is continuing to grow. Right now, it’s growing at a 25 to 32 per cent rate in the last six months and the company is really happy about that.
“Having a facility and a dedicated inventory for the dot.com has been a really big investment that’s been going on for us over the last six months,” says Stanton.
While there is joy in being and growing in the dot.com space, there’s no question the Running Room remains a very customer service-oriented company for products it sells.
“Overall we still feel there are opportunities (for expansion),” says Stanton. “We just had a store move in Victoria which we feel there’s lots of those type of opportunities, of stores that have done well for us.”
They will be strategic moves for existing stores but also the company will keep its eyes open for expansion as well.
“If there’s any oddities we see come up . . . then we’re for sure looking for that,” says Stanton. “We’re still committed to the U.S. as well but they have some pretty strong headwinds there with sporting goods and the run specialty (retail industry). So we’re letting those waters kind of calm down and making sure our stores are up to standard. And for sure the U.S. is a place we’re going to look to expand. We’re talking a bit of a 10-year plan.”
According to Statistics Canada, Canadian retail sales in June rose for the fourth consecutive month, edging up 0.1 per cent to $49 billion. That’s also a 7.3 per cent hike from a year ago.
Stanton says there have been some pretty strong headwinds for the business in the last couple of years but it is somewhat insulated because of what it does and what it offers. The Running Room is more than just a retail operation because it has running clubs and clinics and it is involved in many different events.
John Stanton Jr., John Stanton Sr.[founder], Jason Stanton
“Despite some economic ups and downs in retail that go on we still have our run clubs and clinics that are thriving and doing quite well . . . On the retail side, though, we’ve been fighting that plus minus two, three per cent for the last couple of years. We’re excited because the last six months we’ve seen some really positive numbers. Certainly out of Ontario. And Alberta has actually really weathered the storm quite well and is starting to breathe again quite nicely.”
